U.S. patent application number 12/351693 was filed with the patent office on 2009-05-07 for modification of advertisement campaign elements based on heuristics and real time feedback.
This patent application is currently assigned to AdReady, Inc.. Invention is credited to Aaron Hungate Finn, Eric Andrew Kolve, David Michael Sliwa, Derek Alan Streat.
Application Number | 20090119179 12/351693 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 39733814 |
Filed Date | 2009-05-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090119179 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kolve; Eric Andrew ; et
al. |
May 7, 2009 |
MODIFICATION OF ADVERTISEMENT CAMPAIGN ELEMENTS BASED ON HEURISTICS
AND REAL TIME FEEDBACK
Abstract
Enabling the selection, modification, and subsequent generation
of online advertisements for either a one time use or as part of an
advertising campaign. The performance of an advertisement is
iteratively reviewed based on heuristics, statistics, metrics,
real-time feedback, and the like, either singly or in some
combination. Iterative monitoring of performance information for
related, but different, online advertisements is analyzed and
employed to recommend and/or automatically generate changes to an
online advertisement, or advertising campaign. An editing facility
is also provided to enable a user to modify a plurality of elements
in an online advertisement, and at least some of these
editable/modifiable elements are monitored for performance
information. The editing facility can enable editing of different
file formats for online advertisements, including, Flash, SVG, and
Gnash.
Inventors: |
Kolve; Eric Andrew;
(Seattle, WA) ; Sliwa; David Michael; (Seattle,
WA) ; Finn; Aaron Hungate; (Seattle, WA) ;
Streat; Derek Alan; (Seattle, WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
DARBY & DARBY P.C.
P.O. BOX 770, Church Street Station
New York
NY
10008-0770
US
|
Assignee: |
AdReady, Inc.
Seattle
WA
|
Family ID: |
39733814 |
Appl. No.: |
12/351693 |
Filed: |
January 9, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12040584 |
Feb 29, 2008 |
|
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|
12351693 |
|
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|
60892799 |
Mar 2, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/14.14 ;
705/14.36 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0212 20130101;
G06Q 30/0236 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06Q 30/0201 20130101;
G06Q 30/0243 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/14 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/00 20060101
G06Q030/00 |
Claims
1. A network device for managing online advertising, comprising: a
transceiver to send and receive data over a network; and a
processor that is operative to perform actions, including:
receiving a plurality of online advertisements based on user
inputs, each online advertisement having at least a different
arrangement of modifiable elements, each of the online
advertisements being related to a same advertisement campaign;
monitoring a performance of each online advertisements in the
plurality of online advertisements; analyzing the monitored
performance of each of the plurality of online advertisements; and
displaying on a computer display device a suggestion for modifying
at least one of the online advertisements by suggesting a change to
at least one of the modifiable elements to optimize a subsequent
performance of the modified online advertisement.
2. The network device of claim 1, wherein one of the modifiable
elements comprises at least one of text, image, a page placement,
or a targeted demographic.
3. The network device of claim 1, wherein the processor is
operative to perform actions, further including: enabling the user
to select a template from a plurality of templates of online
advertisement templates; and enabling the user to customize the
template by modifying the template with at least one user selected
modifiable element such that the customized template is useable as
one of the plurality of online advertisements.
4. The network device of claim 1, wherein a conversion rate is
optimized.
5. The network device of claim 1, wherein analyzing the monitored
performance further comprises determining which combination of
modifiable elements results in a highest performance.
6. The network device of claim 1, wherein the monitored performance
comprises collecting metrics including at least one of the
following: a click-through, or an impression.
7. The network device of claim 1, wherein the computing device
perform actions, further including providing a screen useable to
compare a performance of each of the plurality of online
advertisements.
8. A system for use in managing modifications to an online
advertisement, comprising: an advertisement development component
executing within a computing device that provides interfaces to a
client device and performs actions, including: receiving a
plurality of online advertisements, each online advertisement
having an alternative configuration to at least one other
advertisement in the plurality based on a difference of at least
one user selectable advertisement element; and an optimization
component executing within the computing device to perform actions,
including: gathering metrics for each of the plurality of online
advertisements based on monitoring of at least one consumer action;
analyzing the gathered metrics to determine which of the plurality
of online advertisements is associated with a pre-determined
performance value; and based on the analysis, displaying on a
client device a recommendation that is useable to modify at least
one online advertisement by modifying at least one user selectable
advertisement element to optimize a performance or efficiency
value.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one selectable
advertisement element comprises a difference in a targeted
demographic.
10. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one selectable
advertisement element comprises a difference in an image between at
least two online advertisements within the plurality of online
advertisements.
11. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one gathered metric is
associated with a conversion rate.
12. The system of claim 8, wherein the recommendation further
includes a page placement recommendation for placement of an online
advertisement.
13. The system of claim 8, wherein gathering metrics further
comprises providing a report useable at least to evaluate page
placement of the modified at least one online advertisement.
14. The system of claim 8, wherein the optimization component is
further configured to automatically modify the at least one online
advertisement based on the analysis.
15. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored
thereon that when executed by a computing device causes the
computing device to perform actions, including: receiving based on
a user input a first online advertisement and a second online
advertisement, the first online advertisement differing from the
second online advertisement based on a difference between at least
one user modifiable element, and wherein each online advertisement
is related to a same online campaign; publishing the first online
advertisement and the second online advertisement for access over a
network; collecting metrics for the first online advertisement and
the second online advertisement, wherein the metrics are associated
with the difference between the at least one user modifiable
element; comparing the collected metrics for the first online
advertisement and the second online advertisement; and displaying
at a client device a suggestion of a modification to another online
advertisement based on comparing the collected metrics for the
first online advertisement and the second online advertisement to
increase a performance of the modified other online
advertisement.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
at least one user modifiable element comprises at least one or an
image or text.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
at least one user modifiable element comprises at least one of a
page placement or a demographic targeted.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein
receiving the first online advertisement further comprises:
providing a plurality of templates of online advertisements to a
user; receiving a selection of one of the templates from the
plurality; and providing an interface useable to modify the
template by modifying at least one modifiable element for the
template.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein
comparing the collected metrics further comprises analyzing a
difference in page placement as the at least one user modifiable
element.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein
comparing the collected metrics further comprises generating a
report.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This utility patent application is a continuation of U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 12/040,584 filed on Feb. 29, 2008, and
entitled "Modification of Advertisement Campaign Elements Based On
Heuristics and Real Time Feedback," which further claims priority
from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/892,799
entitled "Modification of Advertisement Campaign Elements Based on
Heuristics and Realtime Feedback," filed on Mar. 2, 2007, the
benefit of the earlier filing dates of which is hereby claimed
under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) and .sctn. 120 and 37 C.F.R. .sctn.
1.78, and which are each further incorporated herein by reference
in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention generally relates to advertising over
a network, and in particular, but not exclusively to the selection,
modification, and generation of online advertisements based on
heuristics, statistics, metrics, and other information.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Advertising and Internet advertising are fast-paced
multi-billion dollar industries. In the advertising industry, the
advantages of presenting attractive, attention-getting, and
memorable advertisements are well recognized. Such advertisements
can increase brand recognition, improve sales, and can be an
integral part of a public relations campaign.
[0004] Traditionally, advertisers refine and optimize advertising
campaigns by using focus groups, consumer polling, advertising
consultants, and/or the like. These mechanisms may be used to
review consumer response and acceptance of advertisements but can
be both time consuming and labor intensive. Such disadvantages
increase cost and lengthen the time required to roll out desirable
changes.
[0005] The advent of the Internet and other networks presents other
types of media enabling communications with consumers and/or the
public. These networks provide a unique mechanism for presenting
advertisements to targeted segments of the population through an
almost infinite array of advertising publishers. These publishers
include traditional content providers as well as non-traditional
organizations and individuals. Also, each targeted population
segment is likely to have different preferences and thus a
different response to any particular advertisement. The large
number of online publishers coupled with the potential to target
multiple population segments makes it increasingly difficult and
expensive to optimize an advertising campaign.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of a
collection of advertisements which may be organized into a
library;
[0007] FIG. 2 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
descriptive information regarding a selected advertisement from an
advertisement library;
[0008] FIG. 3 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
configuration information regarding an advertisement;
[0009] FIG. 4 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
advertisement content information regarding an advertisement;
[0010] FIG. 5 is a screenshot showing one embodiment of certain
performance elements for a number of advertisements;
[0011] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an environment for
practicing the invention;
[0012] FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a server device for
practicing the invention;
[0013] FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a mobile device that
may be included in a system implementing the invention;
[0014] FIG. 9 is a workflow diagram depicting one embodiment of an
advertising workflow; and
[0015] FIG. 10 is another workflow diagram illustrating one
embodiment of an advertising workflow.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Various embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the drawings, where like
reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout
the several views. Reference to various embodiments does not limit
the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the scope of
the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in
this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set
forth some of the many possible embodiments for the claimed
invention.
[0017] Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms
take at least the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the
context dictates otherwise. The meanings identified below do not
necessarily limit the terms, but merely provide illustrative
examples for the terms. The meaning of "a," "an," and "the"
includes plural reference, and the meaning of "in" includes "in"
and "on." The phrase "in one embodiment," as used herein does not
necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although it may.
[0018] The terms "efficiency" or "efficient" as used herein, refer
to the number of consumer interactions with a particular online
advertisement that is published either singly, or as part of a
campaign, e.g., web page impressions, browse-overs, click-throughs
and the like.
[0019] The terms "performance," "performing," and "perform," as
used herein, refer to effective consumer interactions with an
online advertisement, e.g., impressions, clicks, a sale of a
product or service, completion of a questionnaire and/or virtually
any other form, survey, or the like by a viewer of the
advertisement, providing customer profile information, completion
of a customer login, and/or the like, or even receiving feedback
indicating that a viewer of the online advertisement visited a
merchant associated with the online advertisement.
[0020] Briefly stated, the invention generally relates to enabling
the selection, modification, and generation of online
advertisements for publication either singly or as part of an
advertising campaign on networked computing devices, e.g., personal
computers, laptop computers, mobile devices, cellular telephones,
personal digital assistants, video game consoles, or the like. An
editing facility is provided that enables a user to create or
modify elements in online advertisements, which can be provided by
the user, or third parties. These modifiable elements include text,
background color, foreground color, size, font size, font type,
publisher bid, publisher identity, page placement, bitmaps, vector
images, graphics, icons, movies, videos, audio, animation, logo,
template, targeted demographic, and/or the like, and combinations
thereof. Also, heuristics, statistics, metrics, and other
information can be collected and subsequently employed to
statically and/or dynamically analyze and monitor the performance
and efficiency of modifiable elements in an online advertisement,
and the advertisement itself. The invention also compares the
performance and efficiency of element modifications to one or more
elements in other online advertisements.
[0021] Online advertisement campaigns can include one or more
methods for publishing the advertisements, including search engine
advertising, desktop advertising, online advertising directories,
advertising networks, message (email, IM, SMS, MMS) advertising,
and the like. Also, the advertisements themselves, can be published
in different ways, including, but not limited to, text only ads,
banner ads, popup ads, pop-under ads, interstitial ads, floating
ads, expanding ads, wallpaper ads, video ads, audio ads, animated
ads, trick banner ads, map ads, and/or the like.
[0022] A modification to one or more elements of an online
advertisement can be initiated by the advertiser/user or suggested
by the invention based on analysis and monitoring of the
performance and efficiency of online advertisements controlled by
the user and/or other online advertisements controlled by other
users. In at least one embodiment, the performance and efficiency
is determined for at least one or more elements in other online
advertisements controlled by the user and/or other users. The
higher performing and/or efficient elements in the other online
advertisements can be aggregated and grouped into categories,
types, industries, and the like. In at least one embodiment, one or
more elements that are determined to improve performance and/or
efficiency can be employed at least in part as the basis for
suggestions for modifications/additions to elements in online
advertisements controlled by the user, or by various components of
the system, Advertising Service Provider (ASP), an advertiser, a
third party vendor, and/or the like
[0023] As related to the field of advertising, the nature of
networks provides an opportunity for a user to easily publish an
advertisement to a relatively large audience with one or more
content publishers. Commonly, content publishers charge advertisers
fees based on trackable interactivity such as the number of unique
views by a potential customer (pay-per-impression), and the number
of click-throughs (pay-per-click) on the advertiser's
advertisement. Sometimes publishers charge fees based on a
combination of the number of impressions and the number of
click-throughs, or the number of resulting interactions.
[0024] Online advertising publishers such as Google, Yahoo,
Advertising.com, and/or the like, typically employ automated
systems for uploading online advertisements and setting
configuration options such as the target market, campaign length,
advertising budget, or maximum bid. These systems often allow the
advertiser to setup and run their advertising campaign themselves,
without direct assistance from the publisher. Also, there is often
little or no charge for uploading and configuring an online
advertisement or multiple online advertisements.
[0025] The online advertising framework enables advertisers to
quickly gather statistics and other metrics relating to the
performance of advertisements. In addition, the nature of online
advertising allows advertisers to more easily determine which
advertisements or group of advertisements generate the highest
level of consumer interest, consumer activity, and/or the like. For
example, content publishers often enable advertisers to check the
number of impressions, verify the number of click-throughs,
determine the effective cost per thousand impressions (CPM), and/or
the like. Advertisers can often track click-throughs to further
determine if it resulted in further customer interaction, e.g., a
sale, sign-up, and/or the like.
[0026] By coupling the ability to setup and run multiple online
advertisements with the ability to track individual statistics and
other metrics for each running advertisement, advertisers
Advertising Service Provider (ASP), various components of the
invention, a third party vendor, and/or the like can determine
whether a given advertisement is performing well or is
underperforming relative to other advertisements. These
determinations may also be used to rate the efficiency and
performance of multiple advertisements. Advertisers Advertising
Service Provider (ASP), a third party vendor, various components of
the system, and/or the like can use this information to reallocate
advertising resources, adjust configuration options, analyze the
advertisement elements, optimize the performance and effectiveness
of the advertisements, and/or combinations thereof.
[0027] In one embodiment, the invention provides for a server-side
web-based application which automatically manages advertising
resources based on various information, including heuristics,
statistics, metrics, efficiency, performance, and other information
for an online advertising campaign, such as those conducted over a
network, which can include the Internet. Performance information
may be collected that includes, but is not limited to, a number of
click-throughs, a ratio of click-throughs to impressions, the
effective CPM, a number or ratio of customer interactions, e.g.,
sales, sign-ups, and/or the like. Performance information can be
retrieved from different sources, including a content publisher,
tracking interactivity on the advertiser's web servers, and/or the
like. Also, the management of advertising resources may be manually
or automatically carried out by an Advertising Service Provider
(ASP), the advertiser, a third party vendor, and/or the like.
[0028] FIG. 1 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of a
collection of advertisements which may be organized into a library.
It should be noted that the illustrated advertisements as shown are
merely examples, and not intended to limit or otherwise constrain
the invention.
[0029] The library may include advertisements provided by the ASP,
recommended by the ASP, or advertisements uploaded by the
advertiser or a third party. The advertisements may be in varying
states of completion. For example, an advertisement may be complete
and ready to publish, a skeleton representing a general idea or
theme, a template substantially ready to publish, a recommendation
awaiting approval, and/or the like. Advertisers are enabled to use
the library to manage all or some of their advertising assets. From
the library, an advertiser can review the advertisements and can
either start an advertising campaign with selected advertisements
or bookmark selected advertisements for later review and/or
publication or insert advertisements into existing advertising
campaigns. An advertiser may also select and/or customize a
selected online advertisement prior to starting an advertising
campaign.
[0030] FIG. 2 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
descriptive information regarding a selected advertisement from an
advertisement library. In one embodiment, the ASP may provide
tagging and commentary capability for one or more advertisements.
Such capability could allow advertisers to tag certain
advertisements and store comments or descriptions of each
advertisement. The depicted implementation of tagging and
commentary capabilities shown in FIG. 2 provides one possible
mechanism for an advertiser to organize and arrange their
advertising assets.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
configuration information regarding an advertisement. In one
embodiment, the ASP may provide a mechanism which enables an
advertiser to target certain demographics. For example, the ASP may
collect attributes from the advertiser regarding a targeted
demographic including the targeted income bracket, geographic area,
age, gender, industry, ethnicity, language ability, and/or the
like. The ASP may also collect attributes such as the languages in
which to run advertisements, selected publishers, selected keywords
with which to link the advertisement, and/or the like. Further, the
ASP may also collect online advertiser preferences regarding the
use of promotions, other offers, and/or the like.
[0032] FIG. 4 is a screenshot depicting one embodiment of
advertisement content information regarding an advertisement. As
discussed above, the ASP may provide template advertisements that
can be customized for use by an advertiser. Additionally, an ASP
may also provide an advertisement modification utility for easing
customization, modification, and generation of advertisements,
including template advertisements. As can be seen in FIG. 4, a
selected advertisement may be customized with an advertiser's name,
colors, text, and/or other similar elements. Further, additional
elements such as the advertiser's logo, images, sub-images, fonts,
size, and/or the like could also be customized in template
advertisements, or by using the advertisement modification utility.
Likewise, an advertisement modification application may include the
capability to preview a modified advertisement.
[0033] At least one embodiment of the advertisement modification
application enables modification, customization, and generation of
online advertisements that are provided in the Flash file format
(identifiable by the .swf file extension) and editable with an
application programming interface (API). Also, one or more
embodiments enable modifying, customizing and generating other
types of files that may support one or more APIs. For example, the
Free Software Foundation's Gnash file format, the W3C's Scalable
Vector Graphics file format, ActionScript script files, and the
like, can be employed with at least one embodiment of the
invention. However, the advertisement modification utility is not
limited to these formats. Other embodiments enable modifying,
customizing and generating any other file format that can be
employed for online advertisements.
[0034] Such online advertisements can, for example, be suitably
displayed using an application such as a Flash Player, and/or a
client viewer plug-in for another application such as a browser.
Media such as online advertisements using the Flash format are
identifiable by the .swf file extension. The .swf file format is a
binary file format capable of storing elements such as text, font
type, font size, foreground color, background colors, certain
animated modules, bitmaps, vector images, other graphics, or
images, audio, and/or the like, for playing on a computing device.
The designer and/or programmer employ one or more tools, APIs, and
the like, to generate a source file for an online advertisement.
This source file (.fla file extension) is subsequently compiled
into a binary file (.swf file extension) that can be distributed
for playback with a Flash player or client viewer plug-in
application.
[0035] When an online advertisement is created by a third party, a
user may not have ready access to the source file, thus increasing
the difficulty of modifying or customizing the online
advertisement. In at least one embodiment of the invention, an
advertisement modification utility is provided to modify the binary
file, such as a .swf file, to change elements of an advertisement.
For example, such a utility can enable reading, adding, removing,
modifying, resizing, replacing, and/or the like, elements which are
placed "on the stage", i.e., to be viewable/interacted with in an
online advertisement Examples of modifiable elements that can be
tracked and analyzed include text, images, element placement, text
color, background color, foreground color, size, font size, font
type, publisher bid, publisher identity, page placement, bitmaps,
vector images, graphics, icons, movies, videos, audio, animation,
logo, template, targeted demographic, and/or the like, and
combinations thereof.
[0036] Additionally, certain implementations of the advertisement
modification application includes the capability to "import" a
binary file for an advertisement, determine which elements can be
modified and/or customized, and enable a user to make such
modifications and customizations. Such capability enables
customization of template advertisements, advertiser uploaded
advertisements, third party advertisements, and/or the like.
Certain implementations of the advertisement modification
application are also capable of generating new online
advertisements, based in part, on other online advertisements
provided and/or controlled by others.
[0037] In certain embodiments, an interface such as the one shown
in FIG. 4 may be used to control or otherwise interact with an
advertisement modification application. As illustrated, the
application has extracted text and color elements from the
advertisement and placed the extracted elements into editable
fields. Likewise, the advertisement modification application may
include the capability to modify additional elements, such as the
elements discussed above. Moreover, the advertisement modification
application may be capable of modifying template advertisements,
advertiser uploaded advertisements, third party Flash
advertisements, and/or the like.
[0038] FIG. 5 is a screenshot illustrating certain performance
statistics and other metrics for a number of advertisements. This
screenshot shows statistics and other metrics such as the number of
impressions, the click-through percentage, the number of
click-throughs, the conversion rate between click-throughs and
further customer interactions, and the costs associates with these
metrics for each advertisement. As discussed above, these
statistics and metrics can be retrieved from an online advertising
publisher, determined by tracking activity on the advertiser's web
servers, and/or the like. These statistics and metrics, and
suitable combinations thereof, can also be used to provide
real-time feedback relating to the performance of the
advertisements.
[0039] In some embodiments, an ASP performance optimization
application is enabled to publish multiple advertisements with
online advertising publishers. These multiple advertisements may
have substantial differences, or may merely have minor differences
such as different text, font, or color. Further the performance
optimization application may also be configured to automatically
retrieve and monitor performance statistics, heuristics, and
metrics from the online advertising publishers and determine which
of the multiple advertisements are performing better than other
advertisements. As discussed above, this determination can be made
based, wholly or in part, on the number of click-throughs, the
ratio of click-throughs to impressions, the number or ratio of
customer interaction, sales, sign-ups, return on investment, and/or
the like. In at least one embodiment, the performance optimization
application may also iteratively determine and/or retrieve
statistics, heuristics, and other metrics from the advertisers,
and/or third parties and use this information, either singly or in
combination, or in conjunction with yet more information provided
by one or more online advertising publishers, to further refine the
comparison of the performance of online advertisements. Likewise,
the performance optimization application may rely on data related
to a particular advertising campaign or advertiser, or may share
performance data across multiple campaigns or advertisers.
[0040] From these statistics, heuristics, metrics, and other
information the ASP performance optimization application can
analyze the performance of each advertisement relative to the other
advertisements. This application may also analyze the multiple
advertisements to determine differences between the advertisements,
if such differences are not already tracked by the application. By
determining or tracking the differences, the performance
optimization application can analyze which elements of the online
advertisement are related to performance, consumer interest,
consumer interaction, and/or the like. Examples of modifiable
elements that can be tracked and analyzed include advertisement
text, images, element placement, text color, background color,
foreground color, size, fonts, publisher bid, publisher identity,
page placement, animation, audio, logo, template, targeted
demographic, and/or the like, and combinations thereof.
[0041] Further, the performance optimization application may be
enabled to modify advertisements to incorporate positive performing
elements, notify the advertiser, recommend actions that the
advertiser/user can take to improve advertising performance,
efficiency, and/or the like. In at least one embodiment,
modification, generation, and subsequent publishing of online
advertisements may be performed automatically, without human
intervention. However, the performance optimization application
could also be suitably configured to generate and present
recommended online advertisements for review by the user/advertiser
prior to publishing. For example, the performance optimization
application may present certain recommended advertisements,
advertising themes, advertising bids, advertising budgets,
publishers, and/or the like, to an advertiser upon the advertiser's
login to the system. The advertiser could then accept and publish
the recommended advertisements either singly, or as part of an
advertising campaign. Further, the performance optimization
application may be configured to automatically publish modified
advertisements or make other changes if a user has not rejected,
approved, viewed, not viewed, and/or the like, the modified
advertisements during a delay or waiting period.
[0042] In certain embodiments, it may be beneficial to analyze
multiple variables, as discussed above, such as font size
foreground color or background color, and/or the like. In certain
instances, statistical analysis may indicate that certain
combinations of elements are predicted to yield desirable results.
However, for various reasons, these combinations may produce an
advertisement that is visually incoherent or otherwise not useful
for publication. For example, a text color may be selected that
does not provide sufficient contrast with a background color.
[0043] Accordingly, the performance optimization application may be
configured to use additional techniques to determine whether
certain combinations of elements do not perform well. For example,
certain applications may use Bayesian filtering techniques,
multi-variant testing, A/B testing, design of experiments (DOE)
approaches, and/or the like. Use of these techniques could also be
used in conjunction with the automatic modification and publication
of advertisements, as discussed above. Additionally, the
performance tracking application may be configured to provide
analysis, recommendations, modifications, and/or the like, only
after statistically valid data has been collected. The threshold
for such validity may be suitably configured for each individual
advertiser or advertising campaign.
[0044] After the modified advertising campaign or advertisements
have been published, the performance optimization application may
be enabled to retrieve and monitor performance statistics and
acquire feedback on the modified advertisements. By utilizing such
feedback and carrying out iterative performance tracking and
modification, an advertising campaign can be further modified. The
performance optimization application may be configured to continue
in an iterative loop, until certain performance goals are met, for
a set number of iterations, and/or the like, as suitable for a
given situation. For example, in one embodiment, the iteration of
modifying the online advertisement might occur until a defined
value is exceeded for an overall effectiveness and/or performance
of the modified online advertisement.
[0045] FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of an environment in which
the invention may operate. However, not all of these components may
be required to practice the invention, and variations in the
arrangement and type of the components may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
[0046] As shown in FIG. 6, system 600 includes first and second
mobile devices 510-511, first and second client devices 515-516,
server 520, and network 530.
[0047] Generally, first and second mobile devices 611-612 and first
and second client devices 615-616 and server 620 may include
virtually any computing device capable of connecting to another
computing device to send and receive information, including web
requests for information from a server device, and the like. First
and second mobile devices 611-612 and first and second client
devices 615-616 may further include a client application that is
configured to manage various actions, for example, a web browser
application that is configured to enable an end-user to interact
with server 620 other devices and applications over network
630.
[0048] Likewise, server 620 may include a server application that
is configured to manage various actions, for example, a web-server
application that is configured to enable an end-user to interact
with server 620 over network 630. In one embodiment, server 620 may
be configured to manage advertising resources based, in part, on
heuristics and/or performance statistics and other metrics. FIG. 7
shows one embodiment of a server, according to one embodiment of
the invention. Server 720 may include many more or less components
than those shown. The components shown, however, are sufficient to
disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing one or more
embodiments of the invention.
[0049] Server 720 includes processing unit 712, video display
adapter 714, and a mass memory, all in communication with each
other via bus 722. The mass memory generally includes RAM 716, ROM
732, and one or more permanent mass storage devices, such as hard
disk drive 728, tape drive, optical drive, and/or floppy disk
drive. The mass memory stores operating system 730 for controlling
the operation of server 720. Server 720 also includes applications
750, including for example, web-server 753, advertisement
modification application 754, and performance optimization
application 755, which may be expressed as one or more executable
instructions stored at one or more locations within RAM 716,
although the instructions could be stored elsewhere. Server 720 may
also include database 756 or other archive or medium for storing,
retrieving, organizing, and otherwise managing advertisements,
advertising campaigns, and elements thereof.
[0050] FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of mobile device 810 that may be
included in a system implementing the invention. Mobile device 810
may include many more or less components than those shown in FIG.
8. However, the components shown are sufficient to disclose an
illustrative embodiment for practicing the present invention.
[0051] As shown in the figure, mobile device 810 includes a
processing unit (CPU) 822 in communication with a mass memory 830
via a bus 824. Mobile device 810 also includes a power supply 826,
one or more network interfaces 850, an audio interface 852, video
interface 859, a display 854, a keypad 856, an illuminator 858, an
input/output interface 860, a haptic interface 862, storage medium
866, and an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver
864.
[0052] Mobile device 810 may optionally communicate with a base
station (not shown), or directly with another computing device.
Network interface 850 includes circuitry for coupling mobile device
810 to one or more networks, and is constructed for use with one or
more communication protocols and technologies including, but not
limited to, global system for mobile communication (GSM), code
division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access
(TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP), transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), SMS, general packet radio
service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16 Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), SIP/RTP, or any of a
variety of other wireless communication protocols. Network
interface 850 is sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving
device, or network interface card (NIC).
[0053] Mass memory 830 includes a RAM 832, a ROM 834, and other
storage means. Mass memory 830 illustrates another example of
computer storage media for storage of information such as computer
readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other
data. Mass memory 830 stores a basic input/output system ("BIOS")
840 for controlling low-level operation of mobile device 810 and an
operating system 841. Memory 830 further includes one or more data
storage 844, which can be utilized by mobile device 810 to store,
among other things, applications 842 and/or other data. At least a
portion of applications 842 and/or other data may also be stored on
storage medium 866, such as a disk drive, removable storage, or the
like.
[0054] Applications 842 may include computer executable
instructions which, when executed by mobile device 810, provide
such functions as calendars, contact managers, task managers,
transcoders, database programs, word processing programs, screen
savers, security applications, spreadsheet programs, games, search
programs, and so forth. Applications 842 may further include
browser 845 to enable interaction with other computing devices such
as server 620, and/or the like.
[0055] In certain embodiments, the above discussed advertisement
management applications can be used, configured, controlled, and/or
the like though a web browser by an advertiser. For example, the
web browser can communicate with a web server running server-side
advertisement management applications to manage Internet or other
online advertising campaigns. However, in other embodiments, an
advertiser may use locally installed applications, an ASP or third
party may manage an advertising campaign for the advertiser, and/or
the like. It is also recognized that the above discussed
advertising management applications and elements thereof may be
used separately, together, or in any suitable combination.
[0056] FIGS. 9 and 10 are workflow diagrams depicting two
embodiments of advertising workflows. As illustrated, the workflows
show possible steps and elements for, creating, generating,
customizing and modifying advertisements, advertising campaigns,
and elements thereof. It is recognized that certain steps or
elements can be omitted or added as suitable for a given
implementation. Likewise, the individual steps or elements, and
combinations thereof, can be accomplished either manually or
automatically, as suitable for each given implementation or as
discussed above.
[0057] The above specification, examples and data provide a
description of the method and applications, and use of the
invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, this
specification merely set forth some of the many possible
embodiments for the invention.
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